Digimon: The PreSeries
by Nepezi. Kitten Extraordinaire
Summary: The story of first group of digimon allies
1. Intro

**Digimon: The Pre-Series**

**Introduction**

A boy in his early teens stood on the edge of a cliff during a storm. He lifted his foot up and let it hang over the edge. "Goodbye, cruel world." he said as he stepped over the edge. Below the cliff was a beach. At the point where the cliff-wall meets the sand, there was large rocks, he was aiming for them for a definite death. He was falling and falling, he closed his eyes just as a small object flew past him and hit the rock he was about to impact on. The object made an explosion just moments before the boy killed himself. He opened his eyes just before they were shut permanently. The explosion completely destroyed him, cuts and bruises lined his body while large gashes were present on his chest and stomach. His clothes were just torn rags now. The explosion shot his body into the cliff-wall, where it slid down and the formations on the cliff-wall left cuts all over his back. He slid down onto the sand behind the rocks.

* * *

That evening, a girl in her mid-teens, wearing a royal dress stood in the courtyard of a castle, staring at the stars. There were supposed to be guards watching over her but she sent them away when they got tired. Then she noticed a shooting star, she made a wish as tradition dictates. "I wish I could have freedom." she said before heading into the castle and walking to her room. She laid down on her back on her bed and stared out the window above the head of her bed. She pulled the sheets over herself as a small object flew in her window, just getting under her sheet and driving itself into her gut. The only thing stopping her blood from flying all over her room was the sheet that she just pulled over herself. Her vision got blurry and her muscles got weak as she lost more and more blood. She tried to call for help but her muscles couldn't handle the stress without blood pumping through her body and she died in her bed, mouth slightly agape.

_Undisclaimer: I own everything in this story FOR THE MOMENT so all the douches out there telling me to put this on fiction press, you can just shut your mouths_


	2. Chapter 1

**Digimon: The Pre-Series**

**Chapter One**

The body of the dead boy sat against the cliff, unnoticed, untouched, not even the fact that he went missing was noticed. Suddenly, he gasped for air. "What...the...hell...just...happened?" he panted. He looked around. "This can't be heaven." he said to himself as he slowly and painfully stood up. Then he noticed that he was wearing different clothes. A dark gray hoodie and dark blue jeans, even though they hadn't been invented yet. "What are these?" he asked himself. He looked up to the top of the cliff and sighed. "Guess I'll just try again." he sighed. He climbed over the rock that blew him up earlier and noticed a hole. He looked down the hole and saw a small object. He reached in and pulled it out. It was like an upside-down egg, it was red with a black grip and had a screen on it. The screen started flashing while the boy was looking at it. "What's going on?" he asked, nervous. The device bathed him in white light and he felt his body changing. His hands and feet got larger, his fingers and toes went from five per limb, to three, and his twelve remaining nails became claws. His head become shorter but more elongated and his ears moved to the top of his head and got pointy. When he thought it was over, a tail ripped itself out of his rear and he roared in pain. He collapsed onto the sand. After a few minutes of lying there, he got up to look at himself. His skin had turned red, he had black markings across his body and his stomach and chest had become white, he noticed a strange symbol on his chest but didn't bother to think about it. "What happened to me?" he asked himself. Even his voice had changed. He heard people coming and dove behind the rocks, grabbing the device in mid-air.

"I saw it right here." one voice said.

"Are you sure it was a Digimon?" asked a second voice.

"Yes, it was red and had a tail and everything." the first voice replied.

"Maybe you're seeing things." a third voice said. They boy took a quick glance over the rock and saw three men in armor and carrying spears. Bad move, one noticed him.

"Uh oh." the boy said as he jumped on the rock and leaped over their heads. "Can't catch me." he taunted as he started to run. But he crashed into a fourth armored man. He pointed his spear at the boy. The boy gulped. He then remembered his tail and spun around, tripping over the man. He ran over the man and roared at the others, but instead of a roar, a fireball came out. The boy stood, stupefied by what he just did. He then realized they were running at him and he bolted. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, when he finally looked back, he had realized that he had lost the armored men. "That's what you get for chasing a Digimon in armor." he taunted to no-one in particular. "Go Zach, go Zach, it's your birthday." he cheered for himself as he did a little dance. He heard the armored men coming so he ran at the cliff-wall and dug his claws in and started climbing. "Hehe, claws rock." the boy, now known as Zach, said to himself.

* * *

Zach had nearly reached the top and after a few more seconds of climbing he could pull himself up. He reached up to grab the top but, as luck would have it, he turned back into a human just before he grabbed the edge. "Oh crap." he said as he started to fall, but an insectoid hand grabbed his. Zach looked up to see a giant, bipedal insect. The insect hoisted Zach up to safe ground before jumping over the edge and flying away. "What the hell was that?" Zach asked himself. Zach noticed the sun was going down and heard a bell chiming from the top of the castle. That meant that the king wanted everyone in the only room open to public in the castle in one hour. Zach looked at the device he had put in his pocket. "You better not go off in there." he said to it.

* * *

Zach walked into the castle just as the sun was disappearing behind the horizon. '_So far so good_' he thought to himself. He sat in the chair closest to the door. The king walked into the room from the door at the back and sat in his throne. Following him was his daughter, the girl who died in her bed the previous night. "Announcing King Mephis and Princess Gabriel." The king's squire announced.

'_Blah blah blah_' Zach thought. About ten minutes of the king talking and Zach not listening in, he felt different. His hands and feet got bigger and he quickly snuck out. He ran into the nearby forest just as he finished turning into a digimon. The insect from before approached Zach. "What am I?" Zach asked.

"A Guilmon." the insect replied. "You can attack with your fire-breath, claws and tail."

"Yeah, I figured the last part out. Why is it happening to me?" Zach asked.

"You are not alone." the insect replied before flying away.

"Big help." Zach grumbled sarcastically. He noticed a figure on top of one of the castle's towers. It jumped off the tower and into the forest. Zach ran to where he thought it would land to see it land gracefully, it was a yellow, bipedal, fox-like creature with purple sleeve-like fur on its fore-arms and white on its tail, ears, legs and stomach. Its chest was covered in white puffy fur. It landed in a kneeling position with its eyes closed and just stayed that way.

"I know you are watching me, reptile." the creature suddenly said. Zach stayed still. "I have no intent to hurt you unless you have intent to hurt me." the creature said as it slowly opened its eyes. It stood and even though Zach stood in the shadows, it looked directly at him with its icy blue eyes. Zach stood his ground but those eyes seemed to pierce his soul. He tried to mimic what it was doing with its eyes, but what Zach didn't realize was that it wasn't doing anything, and so, he failed. The creature smirked and quietly chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Zach growled.

"You're trying to intimidate me." the creature replied before walking away. "And failing." it added with a chuckle.

"Where are you going?" demanded Zach.

"Somewhere you don't need to know." the creature replied over its shoulder.

"Fine." Zach growled as he walked in the opposite direction.

"Follow her." a voice said. Zach looked up to see the insect.

"No, I'm not a stalker." Zach replied.

"Follow her." the insect repeated as a purple energy spike appeared on its forearm.

"Fine." Zach growled as he turned around to follow the fox-creature.

* * *

"I know you're following me." the fox-creature said as Zach reluctantly trudged on behind her.

"I'm not trying to hide that fact." Zach replied.

"Then why are you so far behind?" asked the creature.

"Because I don't want to follow you." Zach replied.

"Then why are you?" asked the creature.

"I don't know, some bug told me to." Zach replied. The creature stopped and turned to face Zach, she saw in his eyes that even he didn't fully understand.

"What's your name?" asked the creature. Zach was slightly taken aback by this.

"What?" Zach asked.

"Your name?" asked the creature again.

"Guilmon." Zach replied.

"It obviously isn't but good enough. I'm Renamon." Renamon said.

"What do you mean?" asked Zach.

"It is the name of your kind, but not your actual name." Renamon replied.

"How do you know that?" asked Zach.

"Woman's intuition." Renamon replied.

"I don't need to be as skillful as you to know that that is total crap." Zach said. Zach finally caught up with Renamon and they walked together.

"Did you just compliment me?" asked Renamon. Zach thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess I did." he replied.

"Thank you." Renamon said.

"Uh, no problem." Zach replied.

_Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except everything besides the digimon, cookie to anyone who guesses what kind of digimon the insect is and another cookie to whoever guesses how the princess is alive_


	3. Chapter 2

**Digimon: The Pre-Series**

**Chapter Two**

"Where are we going?" asked Zach.

"Why don't you ask your bug?" teased Renamon.

"Oh, ha ha." Zach grumbled.

"Where is he anyway?" asked Renamon.

"In your fur." Zach replied. Renamon's eyes widened and she started jumping around, screaming something along the lines of 'Get it out get it out'. Zach was rolling on the ground laughing. Renamon noticed this and glared at Zach. "Oh my god, that was priceless." Zach chuckled as he wiped a tear away.

"Laugh it up, virus." Renamon growled.

"What?" asked Zach.

"That symbol, do you know what it means?" asked Renamon as she pointed at the symbol on Zach's stomach.

"Nope." Zach replied.

"It's the digital hazard. It's one of the most obvious signs pointing to you having the virus attribute." Renamon explained.

"Cool." Zach said. Renamon face palmed.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Zach moaned.

"No, stop asking." Renamon replied.

"But I'm boooooored." Zach whined.

"Then play with your tail." Renamon suggested.

"I'd prefer to play with yours." Zach said. Everything went silent. "That sounded dirty didn't it?" asked Zach. Renamon nodded. "I don't want to play with my tail." Zach groaned. Silence again. "Let's just change the subject." Zach suggested. Renamon nodded. "I'm bored." Zach complained.

"Oh my god, shut the hell up." Renamon said.

"But then how will you know I'm bored?" asked Zach.

"I don't want to know you're bored." Renamon replied.

"Why won't anything interesting happen?" Zach asked. Then the both of them fell into a pitfall. They heard mischievous laughter and looked up to see four bluish-white digimon laughing at them.

"That interesting enough?" asked Renamon.

"I guess." Zach sighed, his true feelings were obvious as his tail was twitching with anticipation. He jumped as high as he could, dug his claw into the wall of the pitfall and flipped up behind the digimon. They were shocked and tried to run away but Renamon was in front of them. Zach ran up and pushed the digimon into their own pitfall.

"What are you?" interrogated Renamon.

"We're just some lowly Gazimon." answered one.

"We wouldn't have done that if we knew how cool you guys are." A second added.

"Why did you in the first place?" asked Zach.

"Some big bad guy told us to." the first Gazimon replied.

"So why did you listen to him?" asked Zach.

"Because he was way bigger than us." said the second.

"And stronger." added the third Gazimon.

"And he thought a pitfall would stop us?" asked Renamon.

"He just told us to do what we could." the fourth Gazimon replied.

"What else did he tell you?" asked Zach.

"He didn't tell us anything else." answered the first Gazimon.

"Okay, nice meeting you." Zach said as he walked away.

"What? You're just gonna leave us here?" asked the Gazimon.

"Yep." replied Renamon before following Zach. Zach was walking along through the forest when he noticed a beeping. He looked at the device he carried and the screen was flashing.

"Wonder what that means." Zach thought out loud before he felt his tail shrinking. "Renamon! We need to get back!" Zach called behind him.

"Why?" asked Renamon.

"I'm turning back into a human!" Zach called before running back home.

"See you tomorrow." said Renamon as she ran past Zach.

"See you." Zach replied as his hands and feet returned to their regular size and his claws disappeared. Renamon disappeared from view just as Zach tripped over a root. "Ah crap." Zach growled through gritted teeth as he finished the digimon-human transition.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" said a voice from behind Zach. He turned to look but he was punched into unconsciousness.

* * *

Princess Gabriel woke up somewhat early next morning, 10 am is early isn't it? "You've been asleep for a while. Any particular reason?" asked a voice. Gabriel scanned the room and noticed her aide standing against the wall in the corner. He only wore simple clothes that seemed pretty worn out, it was hard to tell what color they originally were. His white hair hanging down, almost covering his eyes that seemed completely devoid of any emotion, even the life seemed to be sucked out of them.

"Nope, just couldn't get to sleep." Gabriel replied.

"Well, get up, your dad wanted to see you for something." the boy said.

"Any clues, Casper?" asked Gabriel.

"It's Castiel, and no, he just said it was important." replied Castiel.

"Fine." Gabriel groaned. She knew what it was for. It was for what it had been for the last ten times. Her father wanted her to pick a suitor. She was only fifteen, she thought she was still too young to be thinking about marriage but her father had the illusion that she was the perfect age to find a worthy husband. It would end the same way as it always did. Gabriel would complain a bit, have to sit in her throne for a few hours, shoo the jerks, ask the gentlemen to leave, both of them annoyed her. Gabriel would want a man who was somewhere in the middle, not a perfect gentleman, but not an absolute jerk, someone who was reckless but knew who could cream them and who couldn't.

* * *

Gabriel walked into the room behind the public room seeming sweeter than sugar. "Yes father?" she asked, hands behind her back.

"Ah, Gabriel, I have decided that it is time for you to find a suitable man to marry." her father replied. She knew this all too well, she even had the guts to move her hand like a mouth behind a back, showing that she didn't care at all.

"Father, I have already told you, I am too young." Gabriel said, she didn't even think about it, it's become instinct to say that when he decides these things.

"Nonsense. We shall start immediately." he replied. This part was new, he seemed far too eager than normal. He took her into the public room.

'_Please tell me he isn't a prince_' Gabriel thought. She sat in her throne, as usual, and the squire opened the main doors, as usual. A boy only about her age entered, wearing royal garments, his light blue hair hung just above his bright yellow eyes.

"Gabriel, this is Prince Raphael." Her father introduced.

'_Damn_' Gabriel thought.

"It is an honor to meet such a beautiful woman." Raphael said with a slight accent, so slight you couldn't tell where he was from.

"And it is a pleasure to meet such a gentleman." Gabriel replied. That was how she was supposed to greet most men.

"Gabriel, Raphael comes from our neighboring country, he is attempting to make peace between us." Gabriel's father explained.

"No." Gabriel simply said.

"Why not?" asked her father.

"They are trying to extend their rule, kings outrank queens." Gabriel replied.

"I can see why you would think that." Raphael said.

"You're not going to attempt to disprove my daughter's logic?" asked Gabriel's father in disbelief.

"She seems hard to convince." Raphael replied.

"He's intelligent." Gabriel commented. "But, I still say no." she added as her father opened his mouth.

"It's okay, I understand." Raphael said. "Maybe I will see you around." he said before leaving. Gabriel glanced at her father before also leaving, albeit a different a way. He was extremely frustrated.

* * *

Castiel was standing outside Gabriel's room, waiting for her return. He opened his mouth to say something. "I am not in the mood." Gabriel said. "I'm going back to bed." she added before entering her room.

"Okay." Castiel replied before walking away. Gabriel removed her royal dress to reveal a crimson tank-top over a black undershirt and a denim skirt over tight, black pants. A vibration came from her pocket, despite only having it go off twice, she knew exactly what it meant and quickly stuffed some things under her bed's sheets to make it look like she was sleeping. Then she ran up and dove out the window, instead of Princess Gabriel landing, it was Renamon. She ran into the forest.

_(A/N) Ooooh, cliffhanger, I hate cliffhangers, but they're so dang fun, also, this will definitely reveal how the princess survived, unless you're retarded, shocking ice_

_Disclaimer: I own everything in this story except the digimon, damn, still no-one has guessed the bug, think dark green_


	4. Chapter 3

**Digimon: The Pre-Series**

**Chapter Three**

Gabriel ran through the forest as fast as her fox-like legs could carry her. '_I shouldn't have left him behind_' she thought to herself. She stopped when she heard a primitive yell. She ran towards where the yell came from. Gabriel climbed into a tree and observed the scene before her. A large, white and black gorilla-like creature was pounding its chest in triumph.

"Say it again." the creature said.

"You are the most awesome digimon to walk the universe." sighed a familiar voice. The creature danced out of the way and Gabriel saw Zach, in Guilmon form, tied up against a tree. Zach noticed Gabriel before he noticed that he had turned back into a Guilmon. "Hey Gorillamon, come here, I've got a secret to tell you." Zach said. The creature came closer to Zach and he moved his mouth to its ear. He blew a fireball into the side of Gorillamon's head. As Gorillamon ran around trying to put the fire out, Zach covered his claws in fire and slashed his way out of the ropes. Renamon jumped down next to Zach just as Gorillamon put out the fire.

"You're gonna pay for that lizard-man!" he roared as he charged at Zach and Gabriel.

"Mister Lizard-man to you." Zach replied as Gabriel jumped out of the way. Zach stepped out of the way and tried to trip Gorillamon, he just got his foot crushed. "AW SHIZNICKLES THAT HURTS!" Zach screamed. Gorillamon punched Zach in the face and he flew to the ground, but because Gorillamon was standing on his foot, he bounced straight back up into Gorillamon's fist. Gabriel winced every time Zach smashed his face into Gorillamon's fist before she remembered one of her attacks.

"This is the easiest fight ever." laughed Gorillamon. Several small diamond shards flew through the air and hit Gorillamon, making him stumble back off Zach's foot. Zach collapsed from the repeated smashes. Gorillamon glared at Gabriel as she prepared another Diamond Storm. The shards flew at Gorillamon again. He raised his right arm which Gabriel realized was a cannon.

"Uh oh." Gabriel said as she dived out of the way just as Gorillamon fired a plasma blast, decimating the diamond shards. She jumped into a nearby tree and darted around the forest canopy. Gorillamon aimed his cannon all around searching for her. Gabriel snuck into a tree behind Gorillamon and jumped. In mid-air she glowed with a ghostly blue light before her hands and feet were covered in blue fire, Gorillamon turned just in time to get a face full of magic-fire-fueled punches and kicks. Gabriel wasn't letting up and was just attacking as fast as she possibly could. Gorillamon reached up and grabbed Gabriel and pulled her away from his face. He growled as he aimed his cannon at her. He charged it up but Zach quickly ran up and redirected the blast at Gorillamon's face. He threw Gabriel behind him and clutched his face in pain. Zach ran after Gabriel to check on her.

"Are you okay?" Zach asked as Gabriel stood up. She tackled him to the ground just before a plasma blast flew over them. Gorillamon roared and ran at them. They rolled out of the way and Gorillamon crashed into a tree. Gabriel covered her hands and feet in blue fire and Zach covered his claws in fire, they both ran at Gorillamon before he could get up and started slashing, punching and kicking at his back. He spun around and stuck his cannon in Zach's face. Instinctively, Zach spat a fireball into the cannon. The fire and plasma in the cannon caused an explosion and sent Zach and Gorillamon flying. Gorillamon's weight, combined with the blast force caused the tree he hit to collapse on top of him. Gabriel ran over to Zach.

"Are you okay?" Gabriel asked. Zach chuckled.

"Two minutes and our places are reversed." Zach said. "Yeah, I'm fine, and I think I know how to beat him."

"A tree just fell on him, I think he's beaten." Gabriel replied. Zach tripped her without standing just before a plasma blast flew past and left a hole in the tree just above Zach's head.

"If I had taken your word for it, well just picture yourself in that tree's place." Zach said.

"Okay, how do we beat him?" asked Gabriel as Gorillamon charged at them, albeit slower due to his injuries.

"Just distract him and I'll do the rest." Zach said.

"Sounds risky." Gabriel replied.

"What good plan doesn't?" Zach asked rhetorically. Gabriel ran at Gorillamon and jumped up and over his head.

"Hey big, fat and ugly!" Gabriel shouted. Gorillamon turned and glared at her.

"Are you talking to me?" Gorillamon growled.

"Hey we've got a genius here." Gabriel taunted. Gorillamon growled and charged at her. She jumped over his head again, letting him crash into another tree. Gabriel noticed steam rising from Zach's mouth. He shook his head to show that he wasn't ready. Gabriel threw two sets of diamond shards as Gorillamon stood up.

"Ha! You missed!" Gorillamon laughed.

"Did I?" Gabriel asked. He glanced to both sides to see the two trees on his left and right had been cut through by the shards.

"Uh oh." he said as the trees fell down on his head. Gabriel turned to Zach to see flames poking out of the sides of his mouth. He motioned for her to move. She turned back to Gorillamon.

"Come on big guy, afraid to use your cannon are you?" Gabriel taunted. Gorillamon pushed the trees off him and stood up and aimed his cannon at Gabriel and started charging. She jumped out of the way just as Zach shot a giant fireball at Gorillamon. He tried to stop the fireball with his half-charged plasma blast but the fireball just canceled out the plasma blast. Gorillamon tried to run but the fireball had already caught him and started to burn him. He started charging his cannon in an effort to stop the fireball but as soon as he aimed at it, the fire mixed with the plasma and exploded. Zach and Gabriel walked over to Gorillamon's burned body and something unnatural happened. Gorillamon exploded into a series of ones and zeros which flowed towards the center of the forest. The devices that Zach and Gabriel carried started beeping just as they heard soldiers approaching.

"Uh oh." they said in unison.

"Leg it!" Zach shouted before they both ran. Zach ran just ahead of Gabriel, slashing the leaves and branches in his way before his claws disappeared. Gabriel considerably slowed down before she tripped on a root. Zach noticed and turned to get her but the soldiers were nearly upon them. "I promise on my life that I'll save you." Zach said before continuing to run. Gabriel rolled onto her back and pretended to have passed out just as she became human. She felt herself being picked up and carried, but she was being carried as fast as she could run as Renamon. She tried to open her eyes to see who was carrying her but the wind was beating against her face too hard and she couldn't open her eyes without them getting watery.

* * *

When Gabriel finally could open her eyes, she was in her room. She looked at her savior and it was a bluish-purple dragon-like creature wearing green pants and metal plates covering his ankles, feet, hands, shoulders, tail and face. "Why did you do that?" she asked.

"Safety." he replied.

"How?" Gabriel asked.

"Your excuse for being out there, a digimon kidnapped you, you wouldn't be able to leave this place, ever." the digimon replied.

"Wouldn't that make me safer?" Gabriel asked.

"Who said it was your safety?" the digimon replied with a smirk.

"Then who's safety?" asked Gabriel.

"That depends." the digimon replied.

"On what, Strikedramon?" Gabriel asked.

"On who you choose." Strikedramon replied.

"For what?" asked Gabriel, she wasn't easily annoyed but Strikedramon's constant half-answers were a real annoyance.

"That depends." Strikedramon repeated as he lent against her window.

"On what?" Gabriel growled.

"Time." Strikedramon said as his smirk widened. Gabriel had taken enough, she just pushed him straight out the window. "I'm telling!" he called after he hit the ground.

"Who?" she asked.

"That depends." Strikedramon replied cheekily with a broad smile.

* * *

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." Castiel chuckled.

"I've told you before and I'll tell you again, don't say that." Gabriel growled.

"Fine." Castiel sighed.

"And tomorrow you're going to do the same thing." Gabriel said.

"You know me." Castiel chuckled before leaving.

"And that's one of the things I hate about you." Gabriel sighed before getting out of bed and getting dressed.

* * *

"So, what do you plan to do today?" asked Castiel as he and Gabriel walked down the hallway.

"Avoid you and my father, visit the villagers, maybe have some food." Gabriel replied.

"By the way, the wizard wanted to see you and your father didn't want you to see the wizard." Castiel said.

"Well, I'll just say you didn't tell me that last part." Gabriel said as she left Castiel.

"Oh gee thanks." Castiel said sarcastically.

"Why would the wizard want me to come see him?" Gabriel finally asked herself. She entered the wizard's lab and she was greeted by a surprising familiar face.

"Hey Gabby." said Strikedramon.

_(A/N) HA ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing except everything besides the digimon, FREAKING HELL IT'S STINGMON, STINGMON SAVED ZACH'S LIFE_


	5. Chapter 4

**Digimon: The Pre-Series**

**Chapter Four**

"Strikedramon?" Gabriel asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Protecting you." Strikedramon replied. Gabriel just gave him him an annoyed glare. "It's no fun when you don't play along." Strikedramon pouted

"So what are you really doing here?" Gabriel asked. Strikedramon simply held up a parchment with text scrawled on it. Gabriel took it and read it.

'_The Digimon Tournament,_

_fight to prove your worth,_

_winning will result in gaining the form above your level_'

"So?" Gabriel asked.

"Pairs are allowed." Strikedramon said.

"I repeat, so?" Gabriel asked.

"You gotta win it with the G-man." Strikedramon replied.

"Don't call him that." Gabriel said.

"Fine but you gotta win." Strikedramon said.

"And how will I get there?" Gabriel asked.

"I 'unno." Strikedramon replied with a shrug.

* * *

"Zach." said Stingmon as he dropped from a tree.

"What do you want now?" Zach asked as he stopped walking through the forest and turned to Stingmon. Stingmon held another of the tournament parchments out to Zach.

"Let me guess, you want me to enter with Renamon." Zach said, more of a statement than a question. Stingmon nodded. "And if I don't, you'll threaten me with that purple spike thing." Zach said. Stingmon nodded. "Can you tell me who she really is?" Zach asked. Stingmon retreated into the forest without a word. "That's what I thought." Zach sighed.

* * *

"Weehoo!" cried a boy in his early teens as he jumped out of a tree into a lake. In midair he heard a beeping and smirked before submerging. A flash came from underwater and he came up as a small white creature with large ears and green markings, he also had a horn on his head. He puffed one ear up and lay on it on the top of the water while using the other ear to protect himself from the sun. "This is the life." he sighed.

"Moron!" called a voice. The boy looked at the creature who called him. It was a creature taller than an average man with a dark bluish-purple mask and a biker outfit.

"Hey Beetleman!" the boy called.

"It's Beelzemon!" the creature snapped.

"Same thing." the boy replied. "And besides, you don't know my name!" he accused.

"Michael." Beelzemon replied.

"Damn." Michael growled.

"No, you know what, screw this, I hope you get a brain sometime soon." Beelzemon said before storming off.

"Where'd Beetleman go?" Michael asked himself.

* * *

"Father, I am attending the princess meeting in a few weeks." Gabriel said.

"Why have I not heard of this?" Gabriel's father asked.

"It was only recently established and only princesses are notified." Gabriel replied.

"Good enough, where is it?" he asked.

"It's in the far-off land of Arnor." Gabriel replied

"Fine, but you will need an escort. Someone reliable, ready for combat and can drive a carriage." Gabriel's father said. At that moment, Zach walked past a nearby window. "You, boy." he said.

"Me?" Zach asked.

"Yes, are you reliable?" Gabriel's father asked.

"Yeah." Zach replied.

"Can you fight?" he asked.

"Yeah." Zach replied.

"Can you drive a carriage?" the king asked.

"I'm okay." Zach replied.

"Congratulations, you just offered to escort my daughter to her meeting in a few weeks time." the king said. Zach was about to say something but stopped himself.

"Understood, your majesty." Zach said with a bow.

* * *

"What game are you playing at?" Zach growled, in Guilmon form as he slammed Stingmon against a tree.

"What are you talking about, and how did you find me?" Stingmon asked.

"You know." Zach growled.

"Well, I know the first one but seriously, how did you find me?" Stingmon asked.

"That's for me to know and you to not find out." Zach replied.

"So you've figured out that I planned for you to get chosen to be Gabriel's escort." Stingmon guessed.

"No, I thought you had given me a pie, of course I figured it out!" Zach growled as he slammed Stingmon on the tree again.

"You're going to give me a few bruises." Stingmon said.

"Nah, you'll just explode into ones and zeros." Zach replied.

"No, I'll just have a few bruises." Stingmon said.

"Not when I'm through with you." Zach threatened. He was smashed away from Stingmon and landed face-first on the ground. He looked up to see Stingmon gone and Gabriel standing over him.

"What's your problem?" Gabriel asked.

"My bug keeps pissing me off." Zach growled.

"Well I'm guessing he has a good reason." Gabriel replied.

"No, he doesn't, he's just a douche who can never give me a full answer or useful information." Zach growled. Gabriel briefly thought of Strikedramon before coming back to reality.

"That sucks." Gabriel said with a slight smirk. In one swift movement, Zach got to his feet, grabbed Gabriel by the throat and lifted her up.

"You think that's funny?" Zach growled in a whisper.

"Kinda." Gabriel replied. Zach hissed, threw her back and stormed off.

* * *

Zach sat on the edge of a cliff looking at the moon in the sky. Gabriel slowly approached from behind before turning back and slowly walking away. "I'm sorry." Zach said. Gabriel turned to see that Zach hadn't moved. "I'm sorry for being such an asshole." he said as he looked at his feet.

"It's ok. I can tell you're going through some hard stuff." Gabriel said.

"It's that obvious, huh?" Zach asked with a chuckle.

"I know how it feels to have an annoyance who never fully answers questions." Gabriel said as she walked over to Zach.

"Please sit down." Zach said. Gabriel sat down next to him. They glanced at each other and caught each others' eyes. After a few moments of staring deep into each others' eyes, they started to lean in. They slowly got closer as they closed their eyes, eventually, they locked lips. It lasted only a few seconds but it felt like an eternity.

"I saw some movement up here." a voice said. Zach and Gabriel quickly broke apart and looked behind them to see movement in the forest. Zach instinctively grabbed Gabriel and hopped over the edge. Mere seconds before hitting the ground, Zach held Gabriel closer and drove his other hand's claws into the cliff-side. They pressed themselves against the cliff-side to avoid detection.

"So are we together now?" Zach asked in a whisper.

"I guess so." Gabriel whispered back.

"Your eyes must be playing tricks on you." a voice said from the top of the cliff. As soon as the people they heard were gone, Zach and Gabriel sprinted back to civilisation.

_Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except the characters, not even Arnor, it's some Lord of the Rings place or something_

_(A/N) yeah, sorta sappy, HOORAY FOR ME_


	6. Chapter 5

Zach stood next to the carriage, waiting for Gabriel to arrive. Stingmon sat in the carriage, out of sight, conversing with Zach.

"Why would the king just offer a random peasant the chance to escort his daughter?" Zach asked.

"If you haven't noticed, he's not terribly smart." Stingmon responded. "Also he thought that offering a peasant the opportunity would prove whether or not the meeting was real, but he didn't exactly think that part through."

"And how do you know all this?" Zach asked.

"Inside information." Stingmon shrugged.

"Do you know why I haven't become Guilmon in a few days?" Zach asked, when there was no response, he sighed and looked inside the carriage to see that Stingmon was, as he expected, gone. "That's what I thought."

Gabriel then arrived with her father. "Boy!" The king growled. "Why do you not wear clean clothes?"

"M'lord, I thought it unnecessary to wear fine clothes while travelling if they would be covered in mud and dirt." Zach responded as he bowed, despite the lack of respect he had for the king.

"Hmm..." The king thought this over for a minute. "Well, I suppose that was thinking ahead, good work."

"Thank you m'lord."

The king then turned to Gabriel. "Are you sure you don't want me to send extra protection?"

"I'm sure, no Digimon have been sighted anywhere near the route we'll be taking," Zach almost smiled at this. "The only possible threat that we'll encounter would be a wild animal or, at worst, bandits. All of which can be disposed of by this peasant, right?" Gabriel looked at Zach.

"With ease." Zach smiled.

"Very well..." The king sighed before looking at Zach. "If anything happens to my daughter, I'm going to personally hunt you down and then you'll wish you had been attacked by Digimon."

"I understand, I will lay down my life if I must to protect your daughter."

Gabriel rolled her eyes. _I hope this wasn't a set-up to get me a suitor..._ She thought.

Zach noticed Gabriel rolling her eyes. _She hates me, well, I guess that will make it even more fun if I become Guilmon._ He thought.

The king gave Gabriel a kiss on her brow. "Goodbye my daughter."

"Goodbye father, I will see in a few days time." Gabriel walked towards Zach. He opened the carriage door.

"Ladies first." He smiled.

"Oh, you're such a gentleman." Gabriel responded sarcastically as she entered the carriage, followed by Zach.

"I will return your daughter in the exact condition she leaves in." Zach said to the king before closing the carriage door, walking to the front, and getting the horses moving.

* * *

After a few minutes, Zach left the horses to follow the path themselves. He sat next to Gabriel and folded his arms, already bored.

_How am I going to get to the tournament?_ Zach mentally asked himself.

_He's just a peasant, no-one will believe him when he says I'm actually a Digimon. Even if he proves to not be a liar, I can simply leave him behind and say a Digimon got him._ Gabriel thought. Her thoughts were interrupted by Zach speaking.

"So what's it like being a princess?" He asked, trying to break the ice.

Gabriel decided that it would be safe to tell him the truth, as no-one would believe him after claiming she was a Digimon. "It's actually rather annoying." Zach wasn't expecting an answer like that, he didn't even expect an actual answer. "My father is constantly trying to find me a suitor, my aide is always either being sarcastic or complimenting my appearance, my mentor never explains anything and he can't ever give me a straight answer. The only good thing about royalty is that I get anything I ask for, though I would prefer to get it, or even earn it, myself instead of it simply being handed to me."

"So you would rather be like regular people? Like me?" Zach asked, surprised at her response.

"I'd rather be free." Gabriel stated.

"Like a Digimon?"

Gabriel hesitated before answering. "Yes, like a Digimon."

"Speaking of, how do you feel about Digimon?" Zach asked. "And I'm just asking because your father seems to hate them with a burning passion."

"I was raised on the belief that all Digimon are evil and want to destroy humans." Gabriel shrugged.

"You didn't answer my question." Zach said. "Don't worry, I can keep a secret."

Gabriel sighed. "I think-" Then the device in her pocket started to go off. "You better be able to keep a secret."

Zach started to mentally freak out as his device started to vibrate. _No! I still don't know how she feels!_

After a minute, the two had become Digimon once again. They had their eyes closed, trying to prolong the time before they had to face the other's reaction. Zach opened his eyes first.

"I kissed a princess!" Gabriel's eyes snapped open at this before widening.

"I kissed a peasant!"

The two stared at each other in shock for a few minutes. "I guess I know how you feel about Digimon now..." Zach said.

"No, this can't be happening." Gabriel said to herself.

"That makes me feel appreciated." Zach said sarcastically.

"Not that! I opened up to someone who I have to see more of now!" Gabriel whined.

Zach was silent for a moment. "Should I be insulted by that?"

"No..." Gabriel sighed.

"I guess we should be glad it's just us two." Zach said. "We'd be put to death by your father, and I doubt that our heads being on the floor would be a good look."

Gabriel chortled at that remark. As unhappy as she was about the situation, she had to admit that he had a sense of humour. "So Guilmon, I don't think I ever found out your real name."

"I'm Zach." Zach smiled.

"I'm Gabriel." Gabriel replied.

"I know," Zach chuckled. "You're the princess."

Gabriel blushed in embarrassment. "Right..."

Zach smiled warmly before the carriage shook. "What was that!" He shouted before running over to look out the window of the carriage. He saw a pair of giant green arms reaching out of a hole in the ground and holding the carriage. Three long green spikes protruded from the arms, facing away from each other. The arms had three large red claws on the 'hands' and metal plates with three short spikes on the backs of the hands. The horses pulling the carriage were neighing in alarm until a blur destroyed the reins and let them escape.

"We're doomed." Gabriel stated before the arms dragged the carriage into the hole.

* * *

Zach and Gabriel sat in silence. The carriage had been dragged through the darkness for the past few minutes. "This is really going to set back my plans for winning that tournament." Zach commented.

"Mine too." Gabriel added.

"There is no princess meeting is there?" Zach asked.

"No."

"Is that a light up ahead?" Zach asked, seeing something out the front of the carriage.

"Is it moving towards us?" Gabriel asked, seeing it.

"I think it might be," Zach said. "Or we're going very fast." Within moments, they had reached the light, without warning, the carriage suddenly shot straight up and into the outside world. It started to fall back down before being caught by something in mid-air and gently lowered to the ground.

"Come on out." A rough voice rumbled. Zach and Gabriel looked at each other before exiting the carriage. They stepped onto sand and were met by a chorus of deafening roars. The pair looked around and saw that they were in an enormous arena reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum, the only differences were that this was much larger, there were several gigantic television screens around the edges of the actual walls, and the seats were filled by thousands of Digimon.

"I've never seen something so huge." Zach breathed, awed by the size of the arena.

"Or so many Digimon." Gabriel added.

Suddenly, the two were covered by a gigantic shadow. They looked up and saw an enormous Digimon. They could only see the bottom but from what they could see, it was made of metal, had a long nose, two arms, a pair of fans on either side of a large turret, three metal poles on both sides near its back, where it had three tail-fins. Every one of the television screens lit up and showed a humanoid Digimon. It had long red hair and large ears similar to a cat's, its blue eyes gave off an aura of mischievousness and slyness. It wore a golden circlet upon its brow and had a piece of semitransparent, purple cloth over it's mouth and throat. Below its breasts was a red tattoo partially covered by a golden ring around its abdomen, below its navel was another golden ring. But the most prominent feature about the Digimon was that its arms and legs were coated in spotted fur. It had an armlet on both arms and four golden rings around each wrist, it had three purple claws per hand and a single ring per claw. The lower half of its legs were cut off by the bottom of the television screens.

A large number of the Digimon in the seats started to whistle when it came onto the screen, even some of the more feminine ones.

"Ladies and gentlemon," The Digimon began. "And all those in between." The face on the screens seemed to look down at Zach and Gabriel. "Welcome to the annual Digital Championship!"

"I thought it was Digimon Tournament..." Zach commented.

"It used to be." The Digimon replied. Zach wondered how she had heard him. "But it just doesn't quite have the ring of Digital Championship."

The crowd erupted in raucous laughter, as if the Digimon had taken Zach down with a brutal insult.

"They're completely in love with her." Gabriel stated.

"Did you expect anything else when you saw me?" The Digimon asked, rhetorically.

"It sickens me." Gabriel said, ignoring the question. The arena went silent before the crowd broke into a deafening roar of rage.

"I think they don't like you." Zach commented, Gabriel gave him a 'no duh' look. The Digimon raised its paw and the crowd fell silent once again.

"I like you, you're sassy. It will be disappointing to see you die in a few minutes." The crowd once again laughed. "Bring out the first fighter!" A gate at the far end of the arena opened. From the darkness beyond the gate emerged a small orange dinosaur with green eyes and three claws accompanied by what appeared to be some kind of blue dog with a horn on its head, a yellow underbelly adorned with a blue and purple marking, and dark blue marks in its fur. "Oh, two on two, this is going to be fun." The Digimon giggled.

"Lucky us..." Zach sighed. "We're being forced to fight a baby dragon and a blue dog by a weird cat-thing..."

"Weird cat-thing?" The Digimon hissed.

"I guess I found out what insults her..." Zach sighed. "What luck I'm having..."

"I'll have you know that I am Bastemon." Bastemon hissed. "The most beautiful and elegant creature in all of the Digital World."

"Looks like someone's rather vain." Gabriel commented.

"Not even the sun's radiance can compare to-"

"Die!" The dinosaur roared as he charged at Zach.

"Ooh, it looks like Agumon is a feisty one." Bastemon said, seemingly forgetting her previous rage.

"Agumon is it?" Zach asked as he dived out of Agumon's path. "Thanks for interrupting her."

At this point, Gabriel barely avoided a blue flame that erupted from the dog's mouth. She then dashed at him, hoping to catch him off-guard.

"Gabumon may be in trouble." Bastemon giggled.

_She's really starting to annoy me._ Gabriel thought.

* * *

Agumon was attacking relentlessly with his claws, and with more strength than his small stature would suggest. Zach couldn't get far enough away to use his longer claws or his fire breath. "Stop being so damn aggressive!" Zach growled.

"Start being so damn aggressive!" Agumon retorted.

"Fine!" Zach lashed out with his own claws, just to be blocked by Agumon. "Damn it!"

"Oh dear, looks like Agumon is going to win!" Bastemon said with mock sadness. Agumon pushed him back, leaving him open for an attack. The dinosaur slashed at Zach's chest, which he easily avoided. _There's no way he missed that by accident._ Zach thought. "How embarrassing!" Bastemon giggled.

"You're trying-" Zach started, but the look Agumon gave him silenced him. The dinosaur's eyes darted up to glance at Bastemon on her giant flying Digimon for a split second. Zach's eyes widened in realisation. Agumon was trying to lose, but to make it look real, and he couldn't say what he was doing, lest Bastemon would hear. Zach smirked, resulting in a raised eyebrow from his opponent. Zach blasted Agumon with fireball before lashing out to catch the stumbling Digimon by surprise.

"This is hot stuff!" Bastemon commented, resulting in uproarious laughter from the crowd.

* * *

Gabumon was much more passive than his companion. When Gabriel got close, he would either block or jump back, as he was surprisingly agile, and when Gabriel was far away, he would use his blue flame breath to bait her into getting close. He, like Agumon, was trying to lose in a realistic manner, which Gabriel had failed to notice yet. She suspected something was up when he hit the arena wall but made no attempt to move to the side. "I didn't think you could get cornered in a circle." Bastemon teased.

He mouthed the words 'Not the face' before putting his arms up to block the incoming barrage of attacks. Gabriel realised his intentions before unleashing a series of punches and kicks until his guard was broken, in which case it just took one strong punch to knock the wind from his lungs, and another to knock him out. She looked over to see Zach's progress.

"Looks like there's one down, one to go." Bastemon commented.

* * *

Zach had managed to keep Agumon on the defensive for most of the battle from when he got up. There were several moments when Zach was open for an attack and Agumon had taken some of them, but tried to avoid seriously hurting him. Zach caught an opening and tripped Agumon with his tail before slamming himself into Agumon's gut, winding the small dinosaur. A quick whack to the face knocked Agumon into unconsciousness.

"Oh my, the dynamic duo have triumphed over the not-so-dynamic duo." Bastemon commented.

"She is really starting to piss me off..." Gabriel growled to Zach.

"Hopefully we won't have to deal with her for too much longer." Zach replied.

"Bring out the next fighter!" Bastemon ordered. Once again, a gate was opened. However, this time, a giant, red dinosaur stepped out. "Dynamic duo, meet Tyrannomon." Tyrannomon was about to charge.

"We're doomed." Zach stated. Suddenly, Tyrannomon collapsed. Bastemon disappeared from the screens. Something flew from the top of the giant mechanical Digimon in the sky. As it fell, it was revealed to be Bastemon. She barely touched the ground before dashing over to Tyrannomon's side. After a few moments of utter silence, she stood.

"Someone infected my gladiator." She hissed, seething with rage.

"It was those two!" roared a Digimon from the middle of the crowd. The entire arena was filled with accusations and roars of rage. Bastemon slowly approached Zach and Gabriel.

"Now we're doomed." Zach said.

"No we're not, we didn't do anything, so there's no evidence to prove we did it." Gabriel stated.

Then Bastemon reached them. "Did you infect my gladiator?" She demanded. "Lie, and I will take your Digicores apart, bit by bit."

"We did not." Gabriel said. "We don't even know the location of this arena, we've never been to the Digital World before today, we don't know how to 'infect' a Digimon, and one of your Digimon brought us here, so I assume that you already knew we hadn't visited the Digital World after reading the flyer."

Bastemon considered her words as she stared into her eyes. "You speak the truth." She turned to face the crowd. "These two are not to blame for the fall of Tyrannomon." She leapt into the air and landed on a blue blur as it flew past, which took her back up to the top of the giant Digimon. "You two should count your blessings, you get to face the champion already."

"There's only three rounds?" Zach asked.

"Most are too afraid to face the champion to actually enter the championship." Bastemon explained.

"Oh yes, lucky us..." Zach sighed.

"Bring out the champion!" Bastemon cheered.

The gate opened one last time. From the darkness strode a tall, lean creature.

"This is Beelzemon, one of my personal favourite gladiators." Bastemon said.

"Your luck has fallen through." Beelzemon stated.

"As if it hadn't already." Zach sighed.

"For I have remained completely alert, since the last championship, and it is impossible that I have been infected." Beelzemon finished.

Gabriel saw him draw his shotgun. "Alright, _now_ we're doomed."


	7. Chapter 6

Beelzemon aimed his shotgun at Gabriel and pulled the trigger. Zach quickly pushed her out of the way, barely managing to avoid being shot himself.

"So you're a long range fighter eh?" Zach smirked.

Beelzemon wordlessly pumped his shotgun before Zach charged at him. He aimed it but just as he pulled the trigger, several diamond shards hit the barrel and redirected the blast into the audience.

Zach roared as he leaped at Beelzemon. "Let's see how you fare in close quarters!"

"Better than you, it seems." Beelzemon hit Zach with an uppercut to the abdomen, sending the reptilian human-turned-Digimon flying into the air. Beelzemon pumped his shotgun again and aimed it at Zach.

"Don't you dare!" Gabriel leaped past and tried to tear the shotgun from Beelzemon's grip. Her tactic failed and Beelzemon used her momentum to slam her into the ground. He then put the barrel of his shotgun to her head.

"Hey!" Zach roared from above. Beelzemon glanced up in time to get a fireball to the face. Gabriel used the distraction as an opening to kick Beelzemon's legs out from under him. Beelzemon simply looked down at her.

"Do you really believe you can overpower me, rookie?" He slammed the side of his shotgun into Gabriel's face, sending her tumbling into the sand.

"Don't you know you shouldn't hit girls?" Zach landed on Beelzemon's back and dug his claws into the neck of the much larger Digimon.

Beelzemon winced. "I am too far out of your league, rookie. I am a Mega-level Digimon."

"I never believed in titles." Zach blew a fireball into the back of Beelzemon's head. Beelzemon retaliated by putting his shotgun over his shoulder and in Zach's mouth.

Gabriel quickly got to her feet and ran at Beelzemon to unleash a barrage of flaming punches into his abdomen.

"Get away from me!" Beelzemon back-handed Gabriel across the face before Zach grabbed onto his shotgun and pulled it from his hand.

"I already told you," Zach put the shotgun to the back of Beelzemon's head, "You shouldn't hit girls."

Beelzemon calmly inhaled and exhaled for a few moments before reaching into his jacket.

"What are you doing?" Zach demanded. The entire audience was silent, and even Bastemon seemed to be holding her breath.

"The Berenjena is a pair." Beelzemon stated simply as he pulled out a second shotgun and aimed it at Gabriel. "You can shoot me but she will be destroyed." Beelzemon smirked malevolently. "Alternatively, you could save her, and then I would destroy the both of you."

Zach bit his lip as he decided which option was preferable.

"You have ten seconds." Beelzemon stated as he started to charge the shotgun still in his hand.

Zach launched himself over Beelzemon's head and landed on the second of his shotguns. He kicked off and pushed it into the sand. The shot was released as Zach reached Gabriel. Beelzemon's shot exploded in the sand, launching him back and sending an obscene amount of sand into the air and onto Zach and Gabriel.

When the sand fell, Zach was revealed charging up a shot. "Smile." He pulled the trigger.

"Never!" Beelzemon quickly aimed and fired. Upon seeing its trajectory, Zach quickly pushed Gabriel out of the way, taking the shot in the stomach.

"Zach!" Gabriel screamed.

Beelzemon roared in agony as Zach's shot impacted with his abdomen. "You'll pay for this!" He exploded into ones and zeroes which floated up towards the giant Digimon in the sky.

The TV screens showed the ones and zeroes being absorbed into Bastemon's body.

"Oh dear, it seems that your boyfriend is hurt..." She sighed in mock sadness.

"I'm not done yet." Zach groaned as he opened his eyes.

"Hm... Well I'm a good sport, so I suppose I'll help him out before sending you on your way." Bastemon smiled coyly.

"I don't trust that smile..." Zach whispered to Gabriel.

"Just give us our prize and let us go!" Gabriel yelled to Bastemon.

"Very well then." Bastemon waved her hand and a large, blue dragon flew from the top of the giant Digimon to land in front of Zach and Gabriel. The dragon glowed white and two small orbs of light floated from his body and into Zach and Gabriel.

"Thank you." Gabriel nodded.

"Let's test this out." Zach grunted as he got to his feet.

"You're still injured!" Gabriel insisted.

"I'll live." Zach started glowing as the dragon stopped. "Guilmon digivolve to...!"

The dragon raised an eyebrow as he waited for the process to finish.

"Growlmon!" Zach roared. "The Deep-crimson Demon Dragon!" He was bigger now, with a silver mane and long, organic blades protruding from his forearms. He looked over his body and observed his visibly larger muscles and the black rings with yellow markings on his forearms, thighs and tail. "Oh yeah." He commented before clutching his stomach in pain. He moved his claw to see that his wound remained.

"What will your first action as a Champion-level Digimon be?" The dragon asked.

"An act of defiance." Zach looked up at the giant Digimon.

"Oh I do not like that look." Bastemon commented.

When flames started to poke out of Zach's mouth, the audience erupted in rage as they realised what he was planning.

"Pyro Blaster!" Zach roared as flames erupted from his mouth. The dragon simply stood back and watched impassively.

Gabriel watched in awe as Zach's flames actually reached the Digimon in the sky. When the flames hit the metal bottom of the Digimon, Bastemon laughed.

"Brimpmon here is almost completely coated in metal," she said, "Unless you can curve your flames, you're not going to do anything."

Zach glared at the Digimon and put all his power into the flames.

"Oh god, you actually _can_ curve your flames." Bastemon commented as she saw that Zach's flames started to curl up towards Brimpmon's left flank; the only part not coated in metal. "Au revior, Dynamic Duo." The feline smirked as she gave them a wave before disappearing from the screen.

The dragon started to glow as Zach released his flames. The dragon got much smaller before growing larger once more. When the glow faded, the dragon was green and was revealed to be the owner of the giant arms that pulled Zach and Gabriel into the ground.

"Let's go," He said, "Get in the carriage."

Zach and Gabriel turned to see that someone was kind enough to move the carriage far out of harm's way. The green dragon pulled it over to them and they quickly got in.

Suddenly, a deep voice rumbled from above, "Zeppelin Explosion."

The green dragon quickly uncovered the hole he had brought the carriage through and pulled said carriage behind him as he entered the hole.

Brimpmon erupted in a massive explosion, causing untold destruction.

* * *

"Why did you save us?" Gabriel asked as she exited the carriage, now in human form. "We just tried to kill your boss."

"Bastemon wasn't my boss," The dragon rumbled, "She was a temporary associate."

"Did she know she was only temporary?" Gabriel asked.

"I told her when she tried to buy my services," The dragon said, "That I would leave when I found the Chosen Ones."

"So now she knows we're special?" Gabriel asked.

"She knew from the moment she laid her eyes upon you." The dragon replied.

"Then why did she try to kill us?" Gabriel asked.

"You have a lot of questions," The dragon chuckled, "She never tried to kill you. That was Beelzemon."

"But if we're the Chosen Ones-"

"She couldn't disappoint her fans." The dragon explained. "They demand violence, and if she didn't deliver, they would riot."

"With that many Digimon..." Gabriel trailed off.

"None of us would be alive here," The dragon said, "And neither would she."

"I bet she didn't expect the Chosen Ones to destroy her giant Digimon." Gabriel smiled.

"Well she did say she wanted to go out with a bang." The dragon smiled back.

"Still injured here." Zach called from inside the carriage.

"Maybe we'll see you around," Gabriel said as she approached the carriage, "By the way, what's your name?"

"Just call me Draco." The dragon replied.

"I'm Gabriel," Gabriel said, "And that's Zach in the carriage."

"Pleasure to meet you Chosen Ones." Draco nodded. "Farewell, I shall go to make sure Bastemon escaped safely."

"I thought you said she was temporary?" Gabriel asked.

"She was," Draco responded, "But a true dragon has honour." He then crawled into his hole.

"How are we going to get back home?" Gabriel asked as she entered the carriage.

"Hey guys, look what I found." Stingmon approached the carriage, holding the reins of the horses that escaped earlier.

"Hey Stingmon," Zach waved, "We won the Championship."

"That was quick." Stingmon commented.

"So this is your bug?" Gabriel asked.

"More or less." Zach shrugged.

"You've had a big day, haven't you?" Stingmon asked.

"You would not believe it." Zach replied. He moved his hands from his stomach.

"Wow... You really took that like a champ." Stingmon commented.

"Thanks." Zach replied sarcastically.

* * *

"What happened to you?" The king demanded when he saw Gabriel's face while she approached, driving the carriage.

"Oh, right..." Gabriel sighed as she remembered the beating her cheek took.

"Where is the peasant I sent?"

"In the carriage." Gabriel jerked a thumb over her shoulder.

The king stormed over to the carriage door and opened it as he prepared to yell something.

"M'lord." Zach nodded before passing out.

"What happened?" The king asked.

"Digimon happened." Gabriel replied as she walked up next to her father. "Managed to get my face, but he protected me from the worst. Threw me out of the way and took the hit himself. Probably would have managed to get away completely unscathed if we hadn't been taken by surprise. He probably hunts them or something."

"Impressive..." The king commented. He called over some servants and had them take Zach to the infirmary. "But what about your princess meeting?"

"I can go next month." Gabriel replied.

"Very well, I'm just glad you're okay." The king caught Gabriel in a tight hug.

"I love you too Dad."

* * *

Zach yawned as he woke up. "Mm, what happened?" He asked aloud.

"The king brought you to the Infirmary after Gabby told him about your bravery." Stingmon replied. Zach practically jumped out of his skin when he noticed the bug sitting next to his bed.

"What'd she tell him?" Zach asked.

"You were caught by surprise, the Digimon got Gabby's face but before it could do any serious damage to her, you took a blast and managed to fend it off." Stingmon replied. He then put down the parchment he was reading. "You can read all about it in last week's news."

"Last week!" Zach exclaimed as he grabbed the parchment.

"I'm just messing with you," Stingmon chuckled, "You've only been out since yesterday."

"Good..." Zach breathed.

"Zach?" A voice called quietly from just outside the infirmary.

"Gabriel?" Zach asked.

"Yeah it's me." Gabriel replied.

"Come on in." Zach offered.

"The door's locked." Gabriel stated. Zach looked at Stingmon.

"I didn't do it..." Stingmon replied.

"That isn't what I was implying." Zach sighed as he stood up and walked over to the door to unlock it. He then turned around to see Stingmon lying in the bed he had just been occupying.

"You know, you could have asked me to get the door." Stingmon pointed out. Zach simply sighed as Gabriel entered the room wearing the outfit she got when she found her Digivice. "Nice costume, it's not Hallowe'en yet is it?"

"Ha ha." Gabriel rolled her eyes. She approached Stingmon and he realised she had some rope.

"Uh oh." Before he could escape, Gabriel had tied him to the bed.

"I've got some questions, and Strikedramon seems literally incapable of giving me a straight answer." Gabriel stated.

"He also knows about a third as much as I do." Stingmon replied.

"How so?" Gabriel asked.

"Well I'm faster, so I can check on all three of you, besides, he hates Zach."

"Wait, three?" Gabriel asked.

"Hang on, Gabby, you missed a very important point," Zach said, "Why does he hate me?"

Gabriel rolled her eyes. "He just hates Virus-type Digimon." Stingmon shrugged.

"You said there were three of us." Gabriel pointed out.

"Did I?" Stingmon asked.

"Yes." Zach and Gabriel stated in unison.

"I may have been mistaken." Stingmon replied.

"Strikedramon is a lot better at half answers than you." Gabriel commented.

"That's because when he would normally give a half answer, I would disappear." Stingmon retorted.

"That's obvious." Zach commented.

"I'm not letting you go until you answer my questions." Gabriel stated.

"Then I'll just use my Spiking Strike to cut through the ropes." Stingmon replied.

"Then I'll yell out that there's a Digimon in the infirmary." Gabriel retorted.

"Then you'll be short a mentor." Stingmon pointed out.

"Do you care?" Gabriel asked Zach.

"Not particularly." Zach replied.

"Exactly." Gabriel smirked at Stingmon before seeing that the bed was now empty.

"How the hell does he do that?" Zach asked.

"Gabriel? You down here?" A voice called out.

"Crap!" Gabriel whispered, "Quick, get in bed and pretend to still be asleep!"

Zach did as she instructed and Gabriel vaulted over the bed and sat in the seat next to it. She then put an arm over Zach and pretended to have fallen asleep with her head on his chest.

"Gabby?" Castiel poked his head into the infirmary and saw the pair. He smiled before closing the door and leaving.

"Gabby? He's gone." Zach pointed out as he gently shook her.

"I'm just a little bit tired okay?" Gabriel mumbled.

Zach smiled before lifting up the sheets. "Hop in, it's warmer under the sheets."

Gabriel did so before nuzzling into his chest. "You're warm..."

"Well I do have a tendency to breathe fire." Zach replied. When no response came, Zach looked down and saw that Gabriel was already asleep. "Goodnight..." He then drifted off into the realm of sleep himself.

* * *

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." Castiel smiled as he stood over the pair lying in the infirmary bed.

Zach and Gabriel both grumbled; Zach opened his eyes.

"Who're you?" Zach asked. Gabriel looked up before sighing and letting her head fall back onto Zach's chest.

"Zach, meet Castiel..." Gabriel groaned.

"Pleasure to meet the object of the Princess' affections." Castiel smirked knowingly as he held out a hand.

"From her response, pleasure to meet the object of the Princess' disdain." Zach smiled as he shook Castiel's hand.

"No need to be so rude..." Castiel stated as his smirk faded. Gabriel quietly giggled. "Your father's looking for you Gabriel."

"Ugh..." Gabriel sighed. "He's always looking for me."

"Just be glad I told him you were on a walk and not in the embrace of a peasant." Castiel retorted.

"Just tell him he can come get me himself." Gabriel sighed.

"I really wouldn't recommend that..." Castiel replied. "You may know the king better than I, but I still know how he would react to his daughter being in love with a peasant."

Gabriel simply groaned in annoyance.

"It's in your best interests to make him think you're still single." Castiel pointed out.

"You know, I really don't care that much for titles like 'King' or 'Princess'." Zach commented.

"If anyone overheard you saying that..." Castiel warned.

"I'll pay respect to the king's authority when he earns it." Zach replied nonchalantly as he put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"So do you respect Gabriel then?" Castiel asked.

Zach opened his eyes to look Castiel directly in his. "Absolutely."

Castiel sighed. "I suppose I'll just tell the king you're having 'lady troubles' then."

"Cass!" Gabriel blushed furiously.

"It's worked before." Castiel shrugged.

"You've used it before?" Zach asked.

"Yes," Castiel said, "It usually makes him decide to tell everything to Gabriel through me."

"Now that you mention it..." Gabriel trailed off.

"I told you I've used it before." Castiel shrugged.

"I couldn't lie to him like that..." Gabriel shook her head.

"I'm the one doing the lying." Castiel replied.

"Still..." Gabriel sighed. "You'll be okay by yourself right?" She asked Zach.

"I'll be fine, I was thinking about taking a walk actually." Zach replied "And even if I can't leave the infirmary, I can take up a hobby like..." He trailed off. "Reading..."

"Can you even read?" Castiel asked.

"Yes, actually." Zach replied indignantly.

"How?" Gabriel asked.

"My mother taught me." Zach replied.

"Really?" Gabriel asked.

"Is it really that shocking?" Zach asked.

"Well, it's just that peasants usually can't read." Gabriel pointed out.

"Well I never thought it odd, so I didn't bother asking where she learned to read." Zach shrugged.

"Alright, so, let's get going then." Castiel turned and headed for the door.

"Bye, Zach." Gabriel gave him a quick kiss before following Castiel.

"We should probably swing by your room so you can change." Castiel pointed out.

"Yeah..." Gabriel looked down at her outfit which was a few centuries too early.

"Where'd you even get that?" Castiel asked.

"We passed by some travelling merchants the other day." Gabriel lied.

"Maybe you can find them again another day, your boyfriend's tunic was too far gone to be repaired."

"I'm sure I'll live without it." Zach spoke up as he got out of the bed.

"Farewell, Zach was it?" Castiel replied.

Zach nodded. "Farewell yourself Cass."

* * *

"Father." Gabriel greeted as she approached with Castiel.

"Gabriel, I have decided that, due to his courage and determination, I will knight the peasant I sent with you." King Mephis replied.

"Really?" Gabriel asked.

"Are you sure this is wise m'lord?" Castiel asked.

"He risked his own life to save my daughter, I owe him some kind of reward." The king replied.

"Very well, m'lord." Castiel nodded.

"Then why did you summon me and not him?" Gabriel asked.

"I decided I would allow you to tell him in person." The king smiled.

"Thank you, father, I'm sure he will be overjoyed at the news." Gabriel smiled back at him.

"He'd be mad not to be." The king commented.

"True," Gabriel said, "Is that all?"

"Not quite, we will continue the search for your perfect husband tomorrow." The king replied.

"I can't wait." Gabriel replied, feigning enthusiasm.

"I thought you'd be excited." The king smiled. "That is all for now."

"Very well, farewell, father." Gabriel curtsied before turning around and leaving.

"I shall accompany her, m'lord." Castiel bowed before following her.

* * *

Zach was admiring an intricate artwork on the wall of a hallway.

"Can I get you anything, sir?" A servant girl approached him.

Zach looked at the servant girl. "Don't call me a sir, as far as I'm concerned, we are equals."

The servant girl seemed shocked.

"What's your name?" Zach asked.

"K-Kali..." The servant girl muttered.

"Kali, that's a nice name, I'm Zach." Zach smiled warmly.

"Can I get you anything... Zach...?"

"Nothing I can't get myself." Zach replied.

"So I'm useless..." Kali looked down at her feet.

"No," Kali looked up, "No one is useless, believe me, I know."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you..." Kali sighed.

"You have big things in the future, I can just tell." Zach told her.

"How?"

"Not sure, I just have a feeling, and I've learned to trust my instincts." Zach replied.

"I'll keep that in mind..." Kali walked away.

"Zach!" Gabriel called as she ran down the hall towards Zach.

"Hey Gabby, what's up?" Zach asked.

"You're going to be a knight!"

"Woah, wait a second, what?" Zach asked.

"You're going to be a knight!" Gabriel repeated as she reached him.

"How much did I miss?" Zach asked.

"My father said, that since you were so brave and saved my life, he was going to knight you." Gabriel explained.

"So I'll get a cool sword and armour?" Zach asked.

"Well, not right away, but eventually, yeah." Gabriel replied.

"But until then?" Zach asked.

"Well, you get the respect of just about everyone."

"So what's the big fuss?" Zach asked.

Gabriel was taken aback. "What do you mean _what's the big fuss_?"

"Knight is just a title, all it's ever told me is that the person with the title will blindly obey their ruler." Zach shrugged.

"So you're not even thrilled?" Gabriel asked, genuinely confused.

"Not really..."

"You are a mystery, Zach," Gabriel said, "A mystery shrouded in an enigma."

"I just don't see the big deal." Zach replied. "Besides, I don't think Sir Zach has much of a ring..."

"What if I told you, that if you were to become a knight, we could be together?" Gabriel asked.

"We can be together now." Zach replied.

"If you were a knight then my father wouldn't be able to complain about us being together." Gabriel pointed out.

"If he complained about us being together, I'd tell him to shove it where the sun don't shine." Zach replied simply.

"What makes you so different?" Gabriel demanded.

"Excuse me?" Zach asked.

"Anyone would jump at the chance to be a knight and no-one would dare tell the king to _shove it where the sun don't shine_. What makes you different?" Gabriel asked.

"I was brought up on the belief that respect had to be earned and that very few people were irredeemable enough that it warrants murder of their kin." Zach replied. "So far, the only thing I've seen your father do that would warrant respect from anyone, is to genocide every Digimon he comes across, his goal in life is to exterminate every Digimon in the entire world."

"So if you respected him, you would accept?" Gabriel asked.

"If he still wanted to kill every Digimon, not a chance." Zach replied.

"But, what about us?" Gabriel asked.

"What about us?" Zach asked. "He wants to kill every Digimon, and last I checked, our relationship wasn't the only secret you were keeping from him."

"I see..." Gabriel said, "So that's how it is then..."

"Sorry, but yes." Zach sighed.

"So your answer is no..."

"I guess it is..."

"You're fast..." Castiel puffed as he reached the pair.

Gabriel turned and quickly walked away.

"What'd you do?" Castiel demanded.

"I told her I didn't want to be a knight, and then I told her why." Zach responded calmly.

"How can you be so calm? She's obviously very upset and it's your fault!" Castiel exclaimed.

"Shut up." Zach pushed Castiel back as he started to walk away.

"You're going to pay for this." Castiel growled before hurrying after Gabriel.

"I need some fresh air..." Zach sighed as he sped up and headed for the front gate of the castle.


End file.
